The morning we spent with this beautiful family was so peaceful. I hope you feel that from these photos!

We were so happy to be able to create a Moving Portrait as well.

Photographing newborns is always a joy. Meeting them, and seeing their little personalities, even at only a couple weeks old, absolutely fascinates us. And there’s something really fantastic about shooting first borns. Specifically, it’s seeing brand new parents. Every moment is a new experience for them, and they just soak it up. Their eyes are bright with joy and love, they smile so easily, and there are so many simple, quiet moments that are truly and utterly beautiful.

Thank you guys for letting us photograph you. It was such a wonderful experience, we’re so happy to have met you!

If you’ve been following our work for a while you’ll recognize these beautiful people. This family is so special to us, and we’re incredibly lucky to have photographed them many times. Right now they are mere weeks away from adding another member, and we are ridiculously excited to get to meet the little monkey!

This is a pretty special time for them. Still three. Becoming four. A perfect time to capture with a Moving Portrait and some stills. First up the photos, and then make sure to scroll all the way through to see Rob’s latest Moving Portrait!

Wow! Quite special. The location choice (bridge?) added another layer of meaning for me - extra good stuff! I thought I'd be unmoved by the Moving Portrait but I have to say the opposite was true... really powerful, and as a photographer makes me reconsider video and it's possible appeal for my prospective clients. Thank you for a lovely ten minutes of wonderment.

I adore this family! These are stunning! Rob, the fact that you caught the baby moving around 16-18 sec mark is priceless. I can't wait to see the pictures of baby Hanki v2. I also love your past work of this family. :))

The architectural element is radding me. Yes, radding. I think it's the nature of the contrast between that natural earthy vibe of pregnancy… organic form of belly in contrast with the grandness of the bridge. Plus, kid in blanket = win.

Wow. Thank you so much everyone for all the ridiculously kind words!!! We had such a blast creating the photos and video, it's wonderful that folks really enjoy the results! But a LOT of credit goes to the Hankis for being so gosh darn adorable! :)

Such a wonderful twist on a maternity shoot. I've admired your work for quite some time, but this is the first time I've left a comment. Amazing work...I always look forward to seeing what you do next!

In early September my niece turned one! (Yeah we’re a bit behind with our blogging!) It’s a weird feeling when you first become an uncle, and to be honest I think I was in denial for some time. Obviously there’s the typical “I must be getting old!” internal dialog. That goes away (or maybe I’m still in denial). What comes next is the realization that you’re going to know this person for the rest of your life, and that you have this wonderful opportunity to build a relationship from scratch! After that you can’t help falling in love with them.

Another thing that hit me is that my sister is now a mother! It’s pretty incredible to see how much she has changed, and how much she loves her daughter.

Anika is our niece. My sister is Tammy, and Cory is her husband / my brother-in-law, and these are their photos.

Another thing that really rattles me is the way young kids will look at you. They’re not afraid of making eye contact, and they so easily show their emotions through their expressions.

We brought her back a lolly pop from our vaction in Prince Edward Island.

She gave it a taste.

And then decided to see what it looked like whacked against the floor :)

Cute chubby legs.

Thanks so much for letting us photograph you guys! Can’t wait to see you grow together as a family.

The Girards are an incredible family, so full of life and love. Dig right into these photos, because there are guaranteed smiles and laughs ahead!

First off was hair and makeup. Two wonderful ladies from Mousy Brown’s Salon were on hand to get the family all prettied up. Keira, the star of our shoot, got right in to help out.

Then it was off to shoot! You can see Ronald McDonald House in the background there. Jaime, the beautiful mom of this family, describes it as their “second home”. It’s truly a special place.

These guys are fantastic at snuggling and playing together! It was a joy to photograph them. :)

And this next photo I just had to include, because it makes me laugh my head off!! Keira’s brother Keely is the funniest, sweetest big brother in the world.

We absolutely love letting the kids try out our cameras! Keira really took to it right away, and looks like a total pro! (And no, it doesn’t make us too nervous, but it really freaks the parents out, which we think is pretty funny ;)

Another hilarious shot. These two are just too funny! This was “Give your brother a big hug”. Yep, that’s how kids give BIG hugs. :)

Keira was ready for her close up. Maybe a bit too close though… :)

And then, of course, the highlight of the shoot is always getting to play in the park!!

Now, as you saw, we gave the cameras to the kids and let them shoot. Here are a few shots by Keira + Keely!

And finally, another huge thanks to Lauren and Megan from Mousy Brown’s for styling the family, and making them feel like true rockstars.

The Girard’s are from Peace River, Alberta. Chuck and Keely, the dad and big brother, drove all the way in (4 hours!) just to be together for some photos. Photography is something that we do every day, and it’s all too easy for us to take it for granted. These guys really reminded us of the power of images, and how capturing these amazing relationships and moments is a privilege.

As I’m sure you could see in the photos, this family is amazing. Keira is such a strong and beautiful little girl, always wanting to help out. And her big brother, Keely, has the biggest heart. He loves his family, and was so happy to just get to hang out together. Not a lot of young boys would be eager to have a photo hugging their mom, but Keely just does it naturally. And Jaime and Chuck are amazing parents. They just jump right in to play. You can see why the kids adore them.

We know the Girard family personally. Actually my husband built their house in Peace River. You captured their family perfectly. They are the loveing family and always have smiles on their faces. Even though they are going through such a tough time. I just wish more people could do that in hard times maybe they would realize how special families really are.
Thank You again for sharing your beautiful pictures you do such a great job at catching people just being themselves.

Awesome photos you guys. My wife actually works part time as an RN in the NICU at a local hospital here in Riverside, CA. We've been thinking about doing portraits for parents and their babies in the NICU. I think the hospital uses NILMDTS, but we'd like to do something different. We also have a Ronald McDonald House nearby, so we've been inspired to check it out thanks to you guys!

These images are made of pure love and light - it shines through them all, and brought tears to my eyes. Our family have an angel girl, Rosa - who spent time in hospitals too in her short life. I have been studying photography this past year with a view to making precious memories for families also experiencing the challenges of child illness, and baby loss. You have given me such inspiration in these images, and a pathway is emerging. Thank you for this, and blessings on the Girard Family.

Four beautiful kiddos and two adorable parents makes for a lot of photos. Let’s go.

Erin, the gorgeous mom of this family, is a photographer herself. Each and every time we photograph a photographer we are seriously honored. These guys came to see us from Calgary on their way to their summer vacation spot. What a super fun way to kick things off!

These kids were an absolute blast to photograph. As you can see from the photos they each have such personalities!!

I love photographing relationships, and so to get to shoot each parent with each kid was really wonderful. Seeing how they interact, how they snuggle, and how they laugh together is what I shoot for. It’s clear that these kids absolutely adore their parents.

Rob always creates the most amazing portraits of kids. He usually photographs them when I’m taking pictures of the parents. It’s like having a handy babysitter built right in. :)

I’m always blown away by the honesty and openness he can capture. It’s not an easy thing to do with anybody, let alone rambunctious kids. And yet he always does it so beautifully. The large black and white portrait of the little boy near the end is a great example. That’s Oliver, and he wasn’t necessarily interested in photos. He wanted to explore and play for most of the session. I was working crazy hard to get him to enjoy sitting with everyone.

And yet, in just a few minutes, Rob ends up having a conversation with him, and capturing an amazing portrait.

It’s so much fun to shoot as a team. We see things so differently.

Huge thanks to the Baer family for letting us spend some time with you, and capture the incredible amount of love you guys share. It’s magic.

Holy smokes. I didn’t realize how behind I was in blogging until I started pulling these photos together. YIKES! This summer has been truly nuts for us—between tons of awesome shoots, and lots of teaching over at Photography Concentrate. Throw in trying to see our friends, travelling to see family, and attempting to remain sane. It was crazy, but so so so much fun!

So, here are all the sessions that are in the queue to be blogged.

First birthday photos for our insanely adorable niece.

The last wedding we will ever officially photograph. An amazing day with a ton of our friends. A perfect way to end that chapter of our career.

Two lovebirds, loving life. Honestly, these guys were some of the easiest people to photograph. True happiness is like that.

An extremely talented classical singer met up with us for some unconventional headshots. Something a bit different for us, and we had such an amazing time meeting him!!

A sweet and strong little gal from Ronald McDonald House, and her loving family.

A brand new family. This one has a Moving Portrait that is pretty much guaranteed to get a tear or two out of you. Can’t wait to share it.

Another year at the University of Alberta Campus Community Garden Open House (wow, that’s a title!!).

A shoot to remember!! A “The Quick and The Dead” themed session at Fort Edmonton Park.

A day-after portrait session of my cousin and her new husband in Prince Edward Island!!

And our own photos from our trip out there to visit family. Mmmmmmm seafood!!

The most “super” family session ever.

And one of the biggest families we’ve ever photographed!! Four adorable kiddos at once, lots of crazy fun!

Our job is a mighty special one. We get to hang out with wonderful people like the Benders, and just watch them have fun together. To do our work, we have to get immersed in that fun, and notice and appreciate all the details of it. It’s the kind of thing we drive 3 hours, each way, for. And walk in our door back home, totally exhausted, but with smiles on our faces, because these guys were just truly wonderful.

Elle, the toddler, had us laughing the entire time we were together. This kid is a blast. When she laughs, she does it with everything she’s got, and then some. It’s infectious.

Her little sister Charlie is a total sweetheart. She was super calm and observant, taking in everything around her.

We met up in downtown Calgary, and strolled around Prince’s Island Park. Holy smokes!! That place is pure magic. I’ve been to Calgary many times, but never knew it was there!

The Benders are actually from Hamilton, Ontario. Jimmy is a photographer himself! He was in Calgary shooting a wedding in the area, and called us up to take some family portraits while they were nearby.

We are always extremely honored when photographers ask us to shoot their own families. There’s a lot of pressure, but at the same time, a lot of trust. We dig it.

Thanks guys for such a lovely evening. Wish you didn’t live so far away!

What a brilliant idea! Family portraits right before a big adventure. The packing, the preparation, and, most of all, the excitement!

Hanging out with these guys before they took off was such a blast. Gabe showed us his very cool trains, and we got to watch him carefully choose the ones he’d be taking on his big trip. It’s so fun to see what kids pack for a trip: a favourite stuffed animal, a telescope, trains—all carefully placed in his backpack.

Then, off to the airport! We explored, played, and got ready to get on the plane. If Gabe had his way, he’d have jumped on that plane the moment we arrived. He couldn’t wait to take off, and start the adventure! But, a few photos first to remember the big day!

Thank you guys so much for letting us be part of this amazing trip of yours. It was way too much fun capturing the excitement for you!!

Gosh, we’ve been neglecting this blog so much! Our apologies! This summer has been so crazy busy for us, and lately we’ve been working like mad on a big project for Photography Concentrate. Make sure to stay tuned, it’s something that we’re creating to help a LOT of folks, so it’s quite exciting!

But anyway, we’ve been shooting lots, working lots, and in front of the computers lots. So last weekend we took a rare afternoon and evening off of work, and checked out the Edmonton Folk Music Festival for the first time! It was such a fantastic atmosphere, with so much wonderful music. We’ll definitely be checking it out next year!

Here are a few photos from the event. I love this first one that Rob got. It captures all of Folk Fest in a really unique way. You can see the main stage, the huge crowd of people, and the Edmonton downtown skyline in the background.

Darren is recovering from a liver transplant, but you woudn’t know it when meeting him. He’s energetic and funny, and had us all laughing the whole session. He’s got a huge heart too. He’s currently growing out his hair to donate to Locks of Love. He figured that since he got something (a new liver) he’d give something back.

His mom Bonnie absolutely positively adores him, and we were so glad to get some photos of the two of them together. A lot of love going on.

I gave Darren a chance to try out our camera and he was instantly hooked! We had a hard time getting it back at the end of the shoot, because he just wanted to keep taking photos! Gotta say, we loved seeing that :)

Lauren and Craig from Mousy Brown’s Salon were a big part of making this shoot awesome. They donated their time and talent to give Darren and Bonnie an awesome hair styling experience! They are such wonderful people, and Craig even got right into the action…

We finished up by just letting Darren have some fun with the camera. I think there’s a photographer in the making here…

A shot of us by Darren.

And another shot by Darren. That big awesome house in the background is Ronald McDonald House.

I can never write one of these posts without taking a minute to thank the team at Ronald McDonald House Northern Alberta. They are, without question, some of the most caring people we’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. It’s a joy every time we go to the House, because they make everyone feel truly welcome. They work so hard to bring happiness to others, and that’s so very very wonderful. A big huge hug to all of you. You guys rock.

These are always my favorite posts. It always puts life into perspective when I see families with so much love and sick and/or recovering children with so much energy, grinning from ear to ear.
Thanks again R&L
xoxo